This invention relates in general to hand tools and deals more particularly with an improved bearing installation tool for pressing a bearing onto an end portion of a shaft which has a threaded central opening in its end. In pressing a bearing onto a shaft, the bearing must be maintained in accurate coaxial alignment with the shaft while uniform pressure is applied in an axial direction to a radial face of the inner ring of the bearing. Slight misalignment of the bearing relative to the shaft during assembly may result in damage to the bearing and/or the shaft. Heretofore, it has been common practice to use a piece of tubing to drive the inner ring of a bearing onto a cylindrical shaft seat. However, the use of such an improvised tool can result in bearing misalignment or accidental damage to the bearing and/or the shaft seat. Further, where the installation tool is of a type which has a threaded member for threadably engaging a tapped opening in the shaft and a nut engaged with the threaded member for applying pressure to the bearing, it may be necessary to secure the shaft against rotation while pressure is being applied to the bearing by the tool, because rotation of the nut tends to cause corresponding rotation of the shaft.
It may not be feasible to secure the shaft against rotation, as, for example, where only the end portion of the shaft upon which the bearing is being installed is inaccessible. A further problem may be encountered where the shaft end portion, which defines the bearing seat, is relatively inaccessible as, for example, where it is located deep within a closely surrounding housing.
It is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved bearing installation tool which may be used to install a bearing on a relatively inaccessible shaft end portion and which does not require that the shaft to be secured against rotation by means other than the bearing installation tool. A further aim of the invention is to provide an improved bearing installation tool which may be readily adapted to install bearings in a wide range of sizes.